Apparatus and associated methods

ABSTRACT

An apparatus including: at least one processor, and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: in response to user input, disassociate the linking of the orientation of content with respect to the orientation of the display of a portable electronic device to retain the particular orientation of the content with respect to the orientation of the display during the user input.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S.application Ser. No. 13/400,983, filed Feb. 21, 2012, the entirecontents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the field of user interfaces,associated methods, computer programs and apparatus. Certain disclosedaspects/embodiments relate to portable electronic devices, inparticular, so-called hand-portable electronic devices which may behandheld in use (although they may be placed in a cradle in use). Suchhand-portable electronic devices include so-called Personal DigitalAssistants (PDAs), mobile telephones, smartphones and other smartdevices, and tablet PCs.

The portable electronic devices/apparatus according to one or moredisclosed aspects/embodiments may provide one or more audio/text/videocommunication functions (e.g., tele-communication, video-communication,and/or text transmission (Short Message Service (SMS)/Multimedia MessageService (MMS)/emailing) functions), interactive/non-interactive viewingfunctions (e.g., web-browsing, navigation, TV/program viewingfunctions), music recording/playing functions (e.g., MP3 or other formatand/or (FM/AM) radio broadcast recording/playing), downloading/sendingof data functions, image capture function (e.g., using a (e.g.,in-built) digital camera), and gaming functions.

BACKGROUND

Portable electronic devices often have at least one display fordisplaying content. A portable electronic device may also be able todetermine its orientation. For example, a portable electronic device maybe oriented so that the display of the device is in a landscapeorientation, and the portable electronic device may comprise an elementsuch as a gyroscope, for example, so that the portable electronic devicecan determine that its display is in a landscape orientation. Portableelectronic devices may use determined orientation information to showcontent on a display in a particular way.

The listing or discussion of a prior-published document or anybackground in this specification should not necessarily be taken as anacknowledgement that the document or background is part of the state ofthe art or is common general knowledge. One or more aspects/embodimentsof the present disclosure may or may not address one or more of thebackground issues.

SUMMARY

In a first aspect there is provided an apparatus comprising at least oneprocessor; and at least one memory including computer program code, theat least one memory and the computer program code configured to, withthe at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform at least thefollowing:

in response to user input, disassociate the linking of the orientationof content with respect to the orientation of a display of a portableelectronic device to retain the particular orientation of the contentwith respect to the orientation of the display during the user input.

Therefore, a portable electronic device may, in the absence of userinput, and if the display of the apparatus is rotated, also rotate theorientation of the displayed content so that, for example, theorientation of the display and of the content match. For example, anapparatus/device may be able to display text. If the display of theapparatus/device is in a portrait configuration, then the text may alsobe displayed in a portrait configuration. If the display of theapparatus/device is rotated from a portrait to a landscapeconfiguration, then the displayed text may also change orientation so asto be displayed in a landscape configuration.

However, in response to a user input and during the user input, upon thedisplay of the apparatus/device being rotated from a portrait to alandscape orientation, the displayed text may not also rotate from aportrait to a landscape orientation. The text may remain displayed in aportrait configuration even though the display has rotated away from aportrait orientation.

Upon termination of the user input, the orientation of content on thedisplay of the portable electronic device may be re-associated with theorientation of the display. That is, in response to user input, theapparatus may disassociate the linking of the orientation of contentwith respect to the orientation of a display of a portable electronicdevice to retain the particular orientation of the content with respectto the orientation of the display during the user input. Upontermination of the user input, for example, a user moving his thumb awayfrom a position proximal the surface of a proximity-sensitive display,then the apparatus may again associate the orientation of content on adisplay of the portable electronic device with the orientation of thedisplay.

The apparatus may be configured to detect the user input during use ofone or more of a particular supplementary application of the portableelectronic device and a home screen of the portable electronic device.For example, the user input may be detected while an apparatus/device isrunning a particular supplementary application, or while a home screenof the apparatus/device is being displayed. A particular supplementaryapplication may be a calling/telephone application, text messageapplication, e-mail application, video application, audio application,word processing or other productivity application, game, social mediaapplication, internet browser, contact list application, calendarapplication, photo application or calculator application, for example.The user input need not necessarily be made while displaying a menusystem of the apparatus.

The user input may be a hover gesture. The hover gesture may be made bya user hovering a thumb, finger, or palm, for example, over aproximity-sensitive region of the portable electronic device such as aproximity-sensitive display. Thus the apparatus may be configured todetect a hover gesture user input proximal to a proximity-sensitivedisplay of the portable electronic device as the user input.

The apparatus may be configured to detect a hover gesture user inputonly overlying one or more user interface elements displayed on aproximity-sensitive display of the portable electronic device as theuser input. That is, one or more user interface elements may bedisplayed and a hover gesture user input may be detected proximal tothese user interface elements as the user input. The one or more userinterface elements may comprise one or more of a button, an icon, aform, a widget, a hyperlink, a slider, a scroll bar, or a virtualcontrol element. A user interface element may be considered to be adisplayed element with which a user may interact, for example byselecting it (via a user input such as a touch, tap, click, or otheruser input.)

The apparatus may be configured to respond to the user input from one ormore of a proximity-sensitive display and a touch-sensitive display ofthe portable electronic device. Such a display may allow user inputs tobe made by a user touching, or moving a finger or other object inproximity to, the display. A display with both touch-sensitive andproximity-sensitive properties may be able to detect a proximal input asa different type of input to a touch input.

The apparatus may be configured to detect a hover gesture user inputonly proximal to a region not overlying one or more user interfaceelements displayed on a proximity-sensitive display of the portableelectronic device. That is, the detected user input may be a hovergesture over a region of a proximity-sensitive display which does notdisplay any user interface elements such as buttons or icons. Thus theuser may perform a hover gesture user input over a “background” regionof displayed content which does not display any user interface elementsto disassociate the linking of the orientation of content with respectto the orientation of the display of the portable electronic device. Theone or more user interface elements may comprise one or more of abutton, an icon, a form, a widget, a hyperlink, a slider, a scroll bar,or a virtual control element. A user interface element may be consideredto be a displayed element with which a user may interact, for example byselecting it (via a user input such as a touch, tap, click, or otheruser input.)

The apparatus may be configured to detect a hover input as the userinput for response and a touch input to select a function associatedwith the touched region. For example, a portable electronic device maybe displaying a screen with an “answer” button as an incoming telephonecall is being indicated to the user. The user may be able to hover afinger or thumb, for example, over the “answer” button to disassociatethe linking of the orientation of content with respect to theorientation of a display of a portable electronic device, and therebyretain the particular orientation of the content with respect to theorientation of the display during the user input. The user may thenrotate the orientation of the portable electronic device and the user'sfinger or thumb will still be hovering over the location correspondingto the “answer” button as the displayed content will not re-orientaccording to the detected orientation of the display during the userinput. The user may then provide a touch input to the “answer” button(with the same finger or thumb used to hover, for example) in order toselect a function associated with the touched region i.e., to answer theincoming call. The one or more user interface elements may comprise oneor more of a button, an icon, a form, a widget, a hyperlink, a slider, ascroll bar, or a virtual control element. A user interface element maybe considered to be a displayed element with which a user may interact,for example by selecting it (via a user input such as a touch, tap,click, or other user input.)

The apparatus may be configured to detect the user input for responsemade at one or more particular locations on the portable electronicdevice, the one or more particular locations being designated to providefor disassociation of the linking of the orientation of content withrespect to the orientation of the display. Particular locations on theportable electronic device may be located on a display of the portableelectronic device. For example, in the case of a proximity-sensitivedisplay, a user input of a hover close to any region of theproximity-sensitive display may be detected as such a user input. Inother examples, the user may be required to hover their finger or otherobject over one or more particular locations, areas or regions of theproximity-sensitive display. Such particular locations, areas or regionsmay correspond to the region in which a virtual key or button isdisplayed, or may correspond to an edge portion, or to the centralportion of the proximity-sensitive display, for example.

Particular locations other than those on a display of the device may be,for example, a button, slider or scroll wheel on the edge of theportable electronic device, or may be the back and/or sides of theportable electronic device if the portable electronic device isconfigured to accept input via those locations. These locations may bedesignated to provide for disassociation of the linking of theorientation of content with respect to the orientation of the display.For example, the portable electronic device may comprise atouch-sensitive coating or cover located over the back and one or moresides of the portable electronic device which can accept user input, andone or more particular locations on the back and/or sides may bedesignated to provide for disassociation of the linking of theorientation of content with respect to the orientation of the display.

The user input may comprise one or more of a tap, a swipe, a slide, apress, a hold, a rotate gesture, a static hover gesture proximal to theportable electronic device, a moving hover gesture proximal to theportable electronic device, bending at least part of the portableelectronic device, squeezing at least part of the portable electronicdevice, or a multi-finger gesture.

The particular supplementary application may be one or more of acalling/telephone application, text message application, e-mailapplication, video application, audio application, word processing orother productivity application, game, social media application, internetbrowser, contact list application, calendar application, photoapplication or calculator application. Such an application may bedisplayed over substantially all of the display, or in other examples,in a region of the display (such as, for example, in a window displayedon a desktop or home screen of the device).

The apparatus may comprise one or more of an accelerometer, a gyroscopeand a magnetometer to detect the orientation of the display. Such anelement may be configured to allow the apparatus to determine theorientation of a display, for example, by comparison of the detectedorientation of the longitudinal axis of the display of the apparatuswith a gravity vector. The gravity vector may be defined as beingdirected towards the centre of the Earth (i.e., towards the ground). Thedetermined orientation of the display of a device may be determined bythe apparatus to be at a particular angle with respect to the gravityvector, for example the display orientation as detected by a gyroscope.

The apparatus may be configured to detect the user input for response.

The display may be rectangular, and the orientation of the content onthe rectangular display may be a portrait orientation or a landscapeorientation. In the example where the apparatus is configured to, inresponse to user input, disassociate the linking of the orientation ofcontent with respect to the orientation of the rectangular display ofthe portable electronic device to retain the particular orientation ofthe content with respect to the orientation of the display during theuser input, then upon rotation of the display, the orientation of thedisplayed content would appear to remain fixed, for example in aportrait orientation or in a landscape orientation with respect to theorientation of the display, and would not appear to rotate or changeorientation.

The portable electronic device may be configured to associate theorientation of content on a display of the portable electronic devicewith the corresponding orientation of the display. That is to say, ifthe top edge of a display is oriented to be in an uppermost position(for example, a user holding a device upright), then content may also bedisplayed with the top portion of the content closest to the top edge ofthe display and the bottom portion of the content closest to the bottomedge of the screen. As another example, if the long left edge of arectangular display is oriented to be in an uppermost position (forexample, a user holding a device in a landscape orientation), thencontent may also be displayed with the top portion of the contentclosest to the uppermost long left edge of the display and the bottomportion of the content closest to the lowermost long right edge of thedisplay so that the content is shown in a landscape orientation.

The apparatus may be a portable electronic device, a laptop computer, amobile phone, a Smartphone, a tablet computer, a personal digitalassistant, a digital camera, a watch, a server, a portable media player,or a module/circuitry for one or more of the same.

In a further aspect there is provided a method, the method comprising:

in response to user input, disassociating the linking of the orientationof content with respect to the orientation of a display of a portableelectronic device to retain the particular orientation of the contentwith respect to the orientation of the display during the user input.

In a further aspect there is provided a computer readable mediumcomprising computer program code stored thereon, the computer readablemedium and computer program code being configured to, when run on atleast one processor, perform at least the following:

in response to user input, disassociate the linking of the orientationof content with respect to the orientation of a display of a portableelectronic device to retain the particular orientation of the contentwith respect to the orientation of the display during the user input.

In a further aspect there is provided an apparatus, the apparatuscomprising:

in response to user input, means for disassociating the linking of theorientation of content with respect to the orientation of a display of aportable electronic device to retain the particular orientation of thecontent with respect to the orientation of the display during the userinput.

In a further aspect there is provided an apparatus comprising adis-associator;

wherein the dis-associator is configured, in response to user input, todisassociate the linking of the orientation of content with respect tothe orientation of a display of a portable electronic device to retainthe particular orientation of the content with respect to theorientation of the display during the user input.

The present disclosure includes one or more corresponding aspects,embodiments or features in isolation or in various combinations whetheror not specifically stated (including claimed) in that combination or inisolation. Corresponding means for performing one or more of thediscussed functions are also within the present disclosure.

Corresponding computer programs for implementing one or more of themethods disclosed are also within the present disclosure and encompassedby one or more of the described embodiments.

The above summary is intended to be merely exemplary and non-limiting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

A description is now given, by way of example only, with reference tothe accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example apparatus according to the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates another example apparatus according to the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates another example apparatus according to the presentdisclosure;

FIGS. 4a-4c illustrate a user changing the orientation of a personalelectronic device while receiving an incoming call on the device;

FIGS. 5a-5c illustrate a user changing the orientation of a personalelectronic device while composing a textual message using the device;

FIGS. 6a-6b illustrate a user changing the orientation of a personalelectronic device while the device is displaying video content;

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart according to a method of the presentdisclosure; and

FIG. 8 illustrates schematically a computer readable medium providing aprogram.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Portable electronic devices often have at least one display fordisplaying content. A portable electronic device may also be able todetermine its orientation. For example, a portable electronic device mayinclude a feature such as a gyroscope so that the device can determinewhat orientation the display has at any time. Such a device, if orientedwith its (rectangular) display in a landscape orientation, may be ableto use data from the gyroscope of the device to determine that thedisplay is indeed in a landscape orientation.

Such portable electronic devices may use the determined orientation of adisplay in order to show content on the display in a particular way. Forexample, a portable electronic device having a display which isrectangular, with a particular aspect ratio, may be able to determinethat it is oriented with its display in a portrait, or upright,orientation. The device may then be able to display content on thedisplay also in a portrait orientation. Further, if the device were tobe rotated such that the display was moved from a portrait to alandscape configuration, the device may be able to determine that thedisplay has changed orientation and change how the content is displayedaccordingly, that is, change the way the content is displayed so that itis displayed in a landscape configuration, to correspond to theorientation of the display.

This ability of certain portable electronic devices to automaticallyrotate displayed content to correspond to the orientation of the displayof the device can be advantageous. For example, if a user of such adevice wishes to change how he or she is viewing content on the displayby switching from, for example, a landscape to a portrait orientation,the user can rotate the display from a landscape to a portraitorientation and the device can automatically rotate the displayedcontent to correspond to the change in orientation of the display,without the need, for example, for the user to enter into a menu systemto select a “view content in portrait” option or similar.

The detected rotation or change in orientation of the device need not befrom portrait to landscape, that is, a change of 90 degrees rotation ina plane, in order for the device to change the orientation of displayedcontent in response. For example, a portable electronic device may beconfigured such that if the display is oriented with a long edge at anangle between 0 degrees and 45 degrees to the gravity vector (which maybe defined as the direction of the force of gravity, towards the centreof the Earth), then the device may determine that the display is in aportrait configuration. Conversely, if the display is oriented with along edge at an angle between 45 degrees and 90 degrees to the gravityvector then the device may determine that the display is in a landscapeconfiguration.

If a user holds their portable electronic device with a long side of thedisplay at an angle of 43 degrees to the gravity vector, for example, arelatively small movement (of four degrees rotation) to rotate theportable electronic device to be such that the long side of the displayis at an angle of 47 degrees, may be detected by the device as thedisplay being moved from a portrait to a landscape orientation and thedevice may re-orient the displayed content correspondingly from portraitto landscape. This may not be desirable for a user if they are, forexample, currently performing tasks on the device and the rotation ofthe device was not intended to cause the reorientation of the content onthe display but was the result of, for example, the user not beingstationary during use of the device. The user may be walking ortravelling in a vehicle while using their device, for example.

Situations may arise where a user does not wish their portableelectronic device to always change the orientation of displayed contentaccording to the orientation of the display. For example, a user mayreceive a telephone call on their mobile telephone (a portableelectronic device), and be about to touch the “reply” button displayedon screen. If the user accidentally moves the mobile telephone such thata change in orientation of the display is detected, the device mayrespond by changing the orientation of the displayed content to matchthe detected change in orientation of the device. This change inorientation of the content may cause the positioning of the “reply”button on the display to move on the display, and the user mayaccidentally miss touching the “reply” button, thereby missing theincoming telephone call.

As another example, a user may be sat up on a sofa or bed playing agame, or watching a video, on a portable electronic device. The user maydecide to move their position to be more comfortable, for example tolean on one side of the chair or to lie down on their side, but theywish to continue playing the game/watching the video. Such a user maynot wish the orientation of the displayed content to be reoriented to anorientation associated with the orientation of the display, sincealthough the orientation of the display has changed with respect to theground, the orientation of the display with respect to the user's viewhas not changed orientation, since the user has correspondingly changedtheir orientation with respect to the display.

Portable electronic devices which are configured to automaticallyassociate the orientation of displayed content with an orientation ofthe display may allow a user to enter a menu to choose an option ofdisabling the association. However, it may be that the user, in general,would like the orientation of displayed content to be associated with anorientation of the display, but not, for example, if the user is aboutto make an input to the device (e.g., to answer a telephone call or tosend a text message). The user may not wish to enter a menu system andselect/de-select the association of orientation of the display with theorientation of displayed content each time it may be convenient.Further, if the device is, for example, a mobile telephone and anincoming call is being received, the user may not think to, or actuallybe able to, navigate a menu system to disassociate automatic contentorientation from detected display orientation (or the user may be ableto navigate such a menu system, but not quickly enough to also answerthe incoming call). The user would simply wish to answer the call. Theuser may not even wish to make a conscious decision to ensure that thedisplayed content does not reorient if the display is detected to havechanged orientation. The user may find it beneficial if the device wereable to detect that the user was about to, or was likely to, interactwith the displayed content and therefore ensure that the displayedcontent does not change position on the screen, for example as a resultof the displayed content being reoriented on the display if a detectedchange in orientation of the display is detected.

FIG. 1 shows an apparatus 100 comprising a processor 110, memory 120,input 1 and output 0. In this embodiment only one processor and onememory are shown but it will be appreciated that other embodiments mayutilize more than one processor and/or more than one memory (e.g., sameor different processor/memory types). The apparatus 100 may be anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC) for a portable electronicdevice. The apparatus 100 may also be a module for a device, or may bethe device itself, wherein the processor 110 is a general purpose CPUand the memory 120 is general purpose memory.

The input I allows for receipt of signaling to the apparatus 100 fromfurther components. The output 0 allows for onward provision ofsignaling from the apparatus 100 to further components. In thisembodiment the input I and output 0 are part of a connection bus thatallows for connection of the apparatus 100 to further components. Theprocessor 110 is a general purpose processor dedicated toexecuting/processing information received via the input I in accordancewith instructions stored in the form of computer program code on thememory 120. The output signaling generated by such operations from theprocessor 110 is provided onwards to further components via the output0.

The memory 120 (not necessarily a single memory unit) is a computerreadable medium (such as solid state memory, a hard drive, ROM, RAM,Flash or other memory) that stores computer program code. This computerprogram code stores instructions that are executable by the processor110, when the program code is run on the processor 110. The internalconnections between the memory 120 and the processor 110 can beunderstood to provide active coupling between the processor 110 and thememory 120 to allow the processor 110 to access the computer programcode stored on the memory 120.

In this embodiment the input I, output 0, processor 110 and memory 120are electrically connected internally to allow for communication betweenthe respective components 1, 0, 110, 120, which in this example arelocated proximate to one another as an ASIC. In this way the components1, 0, 110, 120 may be integrated in a single chip/circuit forinstallation in an electronic device. In other embodiments one or moreor all of the components may be located separately (for example,throughout a portable electronic device such as devices 200, 300, orthrough a “cloud”, and/or may provide/support other functionality.

One or more examples of the apparatus 100 can be used as a component foranother apparatus as in FIG. 2, which shows a variation of apparatus 100incorporating the functionality of apparatus 100 over separatecomponents. In other examples the device 200 may comprise apparatus 100as a module (shown by the optional dashed line box) for a mobile phoneor PDA or audio/video player or the like. Such a module, apparatus ordevice may just comprise a suitably configured memory and processor.

The example apparatus/device 200 comprises a display 240 such as, aLiquid Crystal Display (LCD), e-Ink, or touch-screen user interface. Thedevice 200 is configured such that it may receive, include, and/orotherwise access data. For example, device 200 comprises acommunications unit 250 (such as a receiver, transmitter, and/ortransceiver), in communication with an antenna 260 for connection to awireless network and/or a port (not shown). Device 200 comprises amemory 220 for storing data, which may be received via antenna 260 oruser interface 230. The processor 210 may receive data from the userinterface 230, from the memory 220, or from the communication unit 250.Data may be output to a user of device 200 via the display device 240,and/or any other output devices provided with apparatus. The processor210 may also store the data for later user in the memory 220. The devicecontains components connected via communications bus 280.

The communications unit 250 can be, for example, a receiver,transmitter, and/or transceiver, that is in communication with anantenna 260 for connecting to a wireless network and/or a port (notshown) for accepting a physical connection to a network, such that datamay be received via one or more types of network. The communications (ordata) bus 280 may provide active coupling between the processor 210 andthe memory (or storage medium) 220 to allow the processor 210 to accessthe computer program code stored on the memory 220.

The memory 220 comprises computer program code in the same way as thememory 120 of apparatus 100, but may also comprise other data. Theprocessor 210 may receive data from the user interface 230, from thememory 220, or from the communication unit 250. Regardless of the originof the data, these data may be outputted to a user of device 200 via thedisplay device 240, and/or any other output devices provided withapparatus. The processor 210 may also store the data for later user inthe memory 220.

Device/apparatus 300 may be an electronic device (including a tabletpersonal computer), a portable electronic device, a portabletelecommunications device, or a module for such a device. The apparatus100 can be provided as a module for device 300, or even as aprocessor/memory for the device 300 or a processor/memory for a modulefor such a device 300. The device 300 comprises a processor 385 and astorage medium 390, which are electrically connected by a data bus 380.This data bus 380 can provide an active coupling between the processor385 and the storage medium 390 to allow the processor 380 to access thecomputer program code.

The apparatus 100 in FIG. 3 is electrically connected to an input/outputinterface 370 that receives the output from the apparatus 100 andtransmits this to the device 300 via data bus 380. Interface 370 can beconnected via the data bus 380 to a display 375 (touch-sensitive orotherwise) that provides information from the apparatus 100 to a user.Display 375 can be part of the device 300 or can be separate. The device300 also comprises a processor 385 configured for general control of theapparatus 100 as well as the device 300 by providing signaling to, andreceiving signaling from, other device components to manage theiroperation.

The storage medium 390 is configured to store computer code configuredto perform, control or enable the operation of the apparatus 100. Thestorage medium 390 may be configured to store settings for the otherdevice components. The processor 385 may access the storage medium 390to retrieve the component settings in order to manage the operation ofthe other device components. The storage medium 390 may be a temporarystorage medium such as a volatile random access memory. The storagemedium 390 may also be a permanent storage medium such as a hard diskdrive, a flash memory, or a non-volatile random access memory. Thestorage medium 390 could be composed of different combinations of thesame or different memory types.

FIGS. 4a-4c illustrate an example embodiment of the apparatus which is aportable electronic device 400, such as a smartphone or PDA, in use. Thedevice 400 in this example is capable of receiving telephone calls aswell as having other functionality. The device 400 has a physicalkeyboard 420 and a display 440 which is proximity-sensitive, that is, itis able to detect the presence of objects in proximity to the surface ofthe display. In proximity may be within a distance of, for example, 2 mmfrom the surface of the display. Such a proximity-sensitive display maybe a capacitive sensing display, or other suitable display as known inthe art. The display 400, as well as having proximity sensitivity, isalso touch sensitive, that is, it is able to detect objects touching thesurface of the display.

The display 440 is able to detect an object in proximity to the displayas a different type of input to detecting an object which is touchingthe screen. For example, the display 440 may be able to detect a hoverinput as a user input for response, causing the disassociation of thelinking of the orientation of content 402, 404, 406, 408, and 412 withrespect to the orientation of a display 440. The display 440 may also beable to detect a touch input, as a selection input, to select a functionassociated with the touched region. For example, touching an applicationicon may perform the function of opening an application associated withthe touched icon, or as another example, touching the “play” button on amusic player widget may perform the function of playing a song. As afurther example, touching a text field may perform the function ofdisplaying a virtual keyboard such that text may be entered in the textfield.

The device 400 in this example is displaying information on theoperation of the device in a status bar 402 such as the signal strength,Bluetooth® connectivity, network connectivity, battery power remaining,and the current local time. The device is also displaying other generalinformation including the date and day 404, and the location and localweather conditions 406 of the device.

In FIG. 4a , the device is oriented such that the display 440 is in aportrait orientation. The orientation of content 402, 404, 406, 408, and412 on the display 440 is associated with the orientation of the display440, in that it is also being displayed in a portrait configuration. Thedevice 400 in FIG. 4a is receiving an incoming telephone call from acontact 408 which the user may answer by selecting the displayed answerbutton 412. In FIG. 4a , the user is about to select the answer button412 by touching it with his thumb 416. FIG. 4a shows that the user'sthumb 416 is about to touch the answer button 412 and is thereforehovering over the answer button 412 in proximity to the display 440.

The proximity-sensitive display is able to detect that the user's thumb416 (or any other object), is in proximity to the surface of theproximity-sensitive display 440 of the device 400. Therefore, inresponse to this user input 414 of a user hovering his thumb 416 overthe proximity-sensitive display 440, the portable electronic device 400disassociates the linking of the orientation of content 402, 404, 406,408, 412 with respect to the orientation of the display 440 of theportable electronic device, to retain the particular orientation of thecontent 402, 404, 406, 408, 412 with respect to the orientation of thedisplay 440 during the user input 414. This is seen in FIG. 4 b.

In FIG. 4b , the user has rotated the device while providing a userinput, so that the display, which was in a portrait configuration inFIG. 4a , is in a substantially landscape orientation. It may be thatthe device is configured to determine the orientation of the display 440of the device 400 by using data received from an accelerometer, agyroscope or a magnetometer. Other ways in which the apparatus is ableto determine the orientation of the display are known in the art andincluded within the scope of this disclosure.

It may be that the apparatus is able to determine the orientation of thedisplay of the portable electronic device by comparing the detectedorientation with the gravity vector (defined as pointing towards thecentre of the Earth). The apparatus may determine that the orientationof the display is in a portrait orientation if, for example, the longside of the display. is between an angle of 0 and 45 degrees withrespect to the gravity vector, and may determine that the orientation ofthe display is in a landscape orientation if, for example, the long sideof the display is between an angle of 45 and 90 degrees with respect tothe gravity vector. Therefore, the orientation of the display shown inFIG. 4a may be determined to be in a portrait configuration, and theorientation of the display shown in FIGS. 4b and 4c may be determined tobe in a landscape configuration.

The orientation of the display may be detected by the comparison of anaxis (for example, the longitudinal axis) of the (rectangular) displaywith the gravity vector. In this way, the orientation of the display ofa device may be determined, in some examples, in three dimensions. Thatis, the orientation of the plane of the display may change with respectto ground level (i.e. is the display held upright, or led flat, forexample, on a table), and the orientation of the plane of thesubstantially vertical display may change in a vertical two-dimensionalplane (i.e. is the device held in a portrait or landscape orientation),and such changes may be detected. In other example, it may be that theorientation of the plane of the substantially vertical display maychange in a vertical two-dimensional plane but that the orientation ofthe display with respect to ground level is not detected.

In FIG. 4b the user is hovering his thumb 416 over theproximity-sensitive display 440 as in FIG. 4a , thereby providing theuser input 414. The device has disassociated the linking of theorientation of content 402, 404, 406, 408, and 412 with respect to theorientation of the display 440 of the portable electronic device due tothe user input 414. The particular orientation of the content 402, 404,406, 408, and 412 is therefore retained with respect to the orientationof the display 440 during the user input 414. The content 402, 404, 406,408, and 412 is displayed oriented relative to the display in the sameway as in FIG. 4a , when the display was oriented in a portraitorientation, since the user input has been provided during themovement/re-orientation of the device shown between FIGS. 4a and 4b .The display 440 of the device 400 as shown in FIG. 4b is determined bythe apparatus to be in a landscape orientation due to being rotated fromthe position of the device is FIG. 4a ; however, due to thedisassociation of the linking of the orientation of content 402, 404,406, 408, and 412 with respect to the orientation of the display 440 ofthe portable electronic device, the content 402, 404, 406, 408, and 412is still being displayed in a portrait orientation.

In FIG. 4c , the user has moved his thumb 416 away from being proximalto the proximity-sensitive display to being at the side of the device400. This movement of the thumb away from the display, so that there isno object detected proximal to the display 440, has terminated the userinput 414. Thus the orientation of the content 402, 404, 406, 408, and412 on the display 440 of the portable electronic device 400 isre-associated with the orientation of the display 440 so that thecontent is displayed in a landscape orientation, to match the landscapeorientation of the display of the portable electronic device.

Consider an example wherein no disassociation between the linking of theorientation of the content and the orientation of the display can occurdue to a user input. If the user were to respond to the incoming call byselecting the answer button 412, for example by using his thumb 416 totouch the button 412, and if the device associates the orientation ofthe content on the display 440 with the orientation of the display 440,then the user may not have touched the button if the display is rotatedbetween two orientations as shown for example in FIGS. 4a and 4b . Theposition of the displayed button 412 would have moved due to thereorientation of the displayed content upon rotation of the display 440,so the user may have missed answering the call.

However in this embodiment, in response to the user input 414, theorientation of the content with respect to the orientation of thedisplay was disassociated due to the user input 414, as shown in FIG. 4b. Thus the particular orientation of the content with respect to theorientation of the display 440 was retained due to the user input 414.The user, even though he has changed the orientation of the display,upon touching the screen, still touches the answer button 414 and isable to answer the incoming call.

It will be appreciated that the two angular positions shown in FIG. 4a ,and in FIGS. 4b and 4c , are very different, but that the difference inorientation required to cause the apparatus to detect that the displayhas changed orientation from, for example, portrait to landscape neednot be such a large difference. A large difference is shown in FIGS.4a-4c for clarity.

The user input 414 in this embodiment is detected during use of thetelephone/supplementary application of the calling application. It willbe appreciated that the user input may be detected during use of adifferent particular supplementary application; for example during theuse of a calling/telephone application, text message application, e-mailapplication, video application, audio application, word processing orother productivity application, game, social media application, internetbrowser, contact list application, calendar application, photoapplication, calculator application, or other application. It may bethat the user input is detected during display of a home screen of thedevice.

In this example, the detection of an object static or moving, proximalto any part of the surface of the proximity-sensitive display, isregistered by the apparatus as a user input for the portable electronicdevice.

In other examples it may be that the detection of an object proximal toone or more user interface elements 412 displayed on theproximity-sensitive display 440 of the portable electronic device 440 isregistered as a user input. In this example if the user hovers a fingerover a region of the proximity-sensitive display 440 which is notidentified as a corresponding to the display of a user interface element412, then no user input may be detected which would cause thedisassociation of the linking of the orientation of content with respectto the orientation of the display of the device 400. For example, onlythe user interface elements such as buttons 412 or icons (or otherdisplayed element which may be interacted with by a user) may respond toa user input made to cause disassociation. Other example user interfaceelements may include forms (such as a search engine application widgetor a text entry form), hyperlinks in a document or website, sliders,scroll bars, or other virtual controllers, or other interactivedisplayed elements.

In still other examples it may be that the detection of an objectproximal to a region not overlying one or more user interface elementsdisplayed on the proximity-sensitive display of the portable electronicdevice is registered as a user input which would cause thedisassociation of the linking of the orientation of content with respectto the orientation of the display of the device 400. In this example ifthe user hovers a finger over a region of the proximity-sensitivedisplay 440 which is not identified as a corresponding to the display ofa user interface element 412, then a user input is detected to cause thedisassociation. Conversely in this example if the user hovers a fingerover a region of the proximity-sensitive screen which isoverlying/corresponding to a user interface element, then no user inputis detected and no disassociation takes place.

FIGS. 5a-5c illustrate an example embodiment of the apparatus which is aportable electronic device 500, such as a smartphone, tablet computer,touch sensitive display or PDA, in use. The device 500 in this exampleis capable of sending e-mails, and is displaying a virtual keyboard 504.The device 500 has a proximity-sensitive and touch-sensitive display502. The display 502 is able to detect an object in proximity to thedisplay as a different type of input to detecting an object touching thescreen. For example, a hover input may be recognized by the apparatus asan input to cause the disassociation of the linking of the orientationof content with respect to the orientation of a display of the portableelectronic device 500 to retain the particular orientation of thecontent with respect to the orientation of the display during the hoveruser input. A touch input may be recognized differently to a hover inputas an input to select a function associated with the touched region, forexample for the actuation of a user interface element. For example,touching an application icon may cause the associated application to beopened, or maximized, or brought to the front of the displayed elements.

The device 500 in this example is running an e-mailing application andis accordingly displaying a message region 506, virtual keyboard 504,and option buttons 508, 510, 512 to allow a user to interact with theapplication and in this example, compose and transmit a message to acontact. The options shown are exemplary and others may be envisaged.The example options displayed in FIG. 5a allow the user to send 508 amessage, save 510 a message in a drafts folder, and delete 512 amessage. Although in this example an e-mailing application isillustrated, the application could, for example, be an SMS/MMS/faxmessage application, an internet browser displaying a website allowing auser to enter text, or any other application where a user can enter (andtransmit) text.

In FIG. 5a , the device is oriented such that the display 502 is in alandscape orientation. The orientation of content 504, 506, 508, 510,and 512 on the display 502 is associated with the orientation of thedisplay 502, in that the content is also being displayed in a landscapeconfiguration. The user 514 in FIG. 5a has just finished composing amessage as shown in the message region 506, and would like to send thatmessage to a contact. The user 514 is shown as about to select the sendbutton 508, so his finger 516 is hovering proximal to the send button508 displayed on the proximity sensitive display 502. Touching the sendbutton 508 would cause the apparatus to transmit the composed message.

The proximity-sensitive display 502 is able to detect the user's finger516 in proximity to the surface of the proximity-sensitive display 502of the device 500 as a user input. In response to this user input, theapparatus performs the disassociation of the linking of the orientationof content 504, 506, 508, 510, 512 with respect to the orientation ofthe display 502 of the portable electronic device 500, to retain theparticular orientation of the content 504, 506, 508, 510, 512 withrespect to the orientation of the display 502 during the user input.This is seen in FIG. 5 b.

In FIG. 5b , the device has changed orientation by being rotated so thatthe display, which was in a landscape configuration in FIG. 5a , is nowin a portrait orientation The user is still hovering his finger 516 overthe send button 508 displayed on the proximity-sensitive display 502 asin FIG. 5a , and is thereby still providing the user input for response.Due to this user input, the device 500 has disassociated the linking ofthe orientation of content 504, 506, 508, 510, and 512 with respect tothe orientation of the display 502 of the portable electronic device500. The particular orientation of the content 504, 506, 508, 510, 512,landscape in this example, is retained with respect to the orientationof the display 502, also landscape, during the user input, even thoughnow in FIG. 5b , the device is in a portrait configuration. The content504, 506, 508, 510, 512 is displayed oriented relative to the display inthe same way as in FIG. 5a , when the display was oriented in alandscape orientation. The display 502 of the device 500 as shown inFIG. 5b is determined by the apparatus to be in a portrait orientationdue to being rotated from the position of the device is FIG. 5a ;however, due to the disassociation of the linking of the orientation ofcontent 504, 506, 508, 510, 512 with respect to the orientation of thedisplay 502, the content 504, 506, 508, 510, 512 is still beingdisplayed in the same way with respect to the display as in FIG. 5 a.

In FIG. 5c , the user 514 has tapped the send button 508 with his finger516 to transmit the composed message, and after tapping the send button508, he has moved his finger away from being proximal to the display502. Therefore the user input has been terminated in FIG. 5c by the usertapping the send button 508 on the display 502 of the portableelectronic device 500. Thus the orientation of the content 504, 506,508, 510, and 512 on the display 502 of the portable electronic device500 has been re-associated with the orientation of the display 502 dueto the user input termination. Since the user input has been terminated,the apparatus displays the content 504, 506, 508, 510, and 512 in aportrait orientation to correspond to the orientation of the display502, which is also in a portrait configuration.

It can be seen that, since the user has selected the send message 508button and the message has been transmitted 518, the displayed (example)options in FIG. 5c are different to those shown before the message wastransmitted. FIG. 5c shows the example menu options as buttons allowinga user to go to the home screen 520, compose a new message 512, or go tothe settings menu 524 of the e-mail application.

If no disassociation between the orientation of the content and theorientation of the display occurred due to a user input, then upon areorientation of the display 502 as shown in FIG. 5b , the orientationof displayed content would also have changed to correspond to the neworientation of the display. If this had occurred, then the user wouldnot have touched the send button 508 if the displayed content hadchanged orientation. The user would have touched a different region ofthe display, which would have no longer corresponded to the location ofthe send button, since the orientation of the displayed content withrespect to the orientation of the device changed between FIGS. 5a and 5b. It may be considered undesirable for the positioning of user interfaceelements such as buttons, icons or other selectable options, forexample, to move their positions relative to the display if the user isabout to select one of those user interface elements.

In this example, in response to the user input, the linking of theorientation of the content with respect to the orientation of thedisplay was disassociated due to the user input, as shown in FIG. 5b .Thus the particular orientation of the content with respect to theorientation of the display 502 was retained due to the user input. Theuser, even though he has changed the orientation of the display 502,upon touching the display, still touches the send button 508 and is ableto transmit the message without inadvertently tapping another area ofthe screen, which may, for example, cause the selection of a differentbutton or cause a different action which was not intended by the user.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 5a-5c , the user input is detected during useof the particular supplementary application of the e-mail application.It may be envisaged in other examples that the user may be about toselect an icon or option on the home screen or desktop of a portableelectronic device, rather than select a button in a particularsupplementary application. An advantage may be perceived by a user of anapparatus/device which is configured to detect a user input such as adetecting a hovering finger or thumb over a proximity-sensitive screen.The portable electronic device 500 may be configured to associate theorientation of content (for example, the positioning and orientation oficons displayed on a home screen) on a display of the portableelectronic device with the orientation of the display, but in thisexample, in response to the user input, the device is configured todisassociate the linking of the orientation of content with respect tothe orientation of the display to retain the particular orientation ofthe content with respect to the orientation of the display during theuser input. Therefore if the device were to detect a change inorientation of the device just before the user selects an icon on thehome screen, the orientation of the content of the home screen would notre-orient and the user would not miss touching the intended region ofthe screen corresponding to the icon of interest.

User inputs for response may be provided to particular locations on adisplay or particular locations situated on the device/apparatus otherthan the display. For example, a user input may be provided to adevice/apparatus configured to receive input from particular locationson the sides of the device/apparatus. The one or more particularlocations on the sides of the device would be designated to provide fordisassociation of the linking of the orientation of content with respectto the orientation of the display. When a user is holding thedevice/apparatus in their hand, the user's fingers touching/pressing oneor more particular predesignated locations on the side of thedevice/apparatus may be detected as user input causing disassociation.Such user input may then cause the device/apparatus to disassociate thelinking of the orientation of content (e.g., icons, text, images) withrespect to the orientation of the display to retain the particularorientation of the content with respect to the orientation of thedisplay during the user input.

Another example of a user input which may cause a device/apparatus todisassociate the linking of the orientation of content with respect tothe orientation of the display is, for example, if the user isperforming a particular gesture or moving their finger in a particularway with respect to a proximity or touch sensitive region of thedevice/apparatus. The user may be able to, for example, trace a form, ormove a finger in a particular way on the device/apparatus to cause it todisassociate the linking of the orientation of content with respect tothe orientation of the display during this input.

FIGS. 6a-6b illustrate an example embodiment of the apparatus which is aportable electronic device 600, such as a smartphone or PDA in use. Thedevice 600 in this example is capable of displaying video content,outputting/receiving audio content, receiving telephone calls, as wellas other functionality. In this example, the user is conducting a videochat with a contact, whereby they can speak to and hear the contact,they can see a live video of the contact speaking to them, and thecontact can also see a live video of the user.

The device 600 has a display 602, a camera 604, a microphone (notshown), a speaker (not shown), and is capable of detecting changes inpressure applied to the edges of the device and converting such changesin pressure into input signals. Such changes in pressure may arise by auser squeezing the edges of the device while holding it. The device mayalso accept user input made in other ways, such as, for example, by auser touching the display (if the device comprises a touch-sensitivedisplay), by hovering proximal to the display (if the device comprises aproximity-sensitive display), or by a user manipulating physicalcontrols (for example, if the device comprises a physical volumeslider/dial control, or a physical on/off/standby button).

The device 600 in this example is displaying some options available tothe user in an option bar 606. Such options may allow, for example, auser to navigate to the home screen, allow a user to access a messagingapplication, allow a user to access a calendar application, allow a userto access a chat application, or allow the user to refresh the displayedcontent. Other example options may be envisaged.

In FIG. 6a , the device is oriented such that the display 602 is in aportrait orientation. The orientation of content 608 on the display 602is associated with the orientation of the display 602, as it is alsodisplayed in a portrait configuration. The device 600 in FIG. 6a iscurrently running a video chat application, so audio and video input isbeing input and output. The external contact can see a live video of theuser of the device 600 due to the built-in camera 602 which may recordvideo input of the user. The user for example, may be holding the devicein front of his face for the external user to see him and so that he cansee the video output of the contact. It may be imagined in otherexamples that the user is watching a movie on the device 600, or isplaying a video game using the device 600.

The user in FIG. 6a is in an upright position, for example, they may bestood up or sat up in a chair. The user in this example decides duringthe video chat to move from their upright position and lie on theirside, for example on a bed or settee/sofa. The user (holding the device)does not want the displayed content 608 to automatically changeorientation upon the device 600 rotating from a portrait to asubstantially landscape orientation due to the user lying on their side,because although the orientation of the display with respect to groundlevel will change upon the user changing position, the orientation ofthe display with respect to the point of view of the user will notchange.

The device in this example is configured to associate the orientation ofcontent on the display 602 of the portable electronic device 600 withthe orientation of the display 600, and thus upon the device 600 beingrotated from portrait to substantially landscape, as shown from FIG. 6ato FIG. 6b , the orientation of the displayed content could also changefrom being in a portrait (as shown in FIG. 6a ) to being in a landscapeconfiguration. This is undesirable for the user since, in this example,it is not only the device and display which are changing orientation butthe user also, who is moving from an upright to a more horizontalposition. The user would therefore be viewing their contact “sidewayson” during the video chat while the user was led on their side if thecontent was re-oriented due to the orientation of the display changingwith respect to ground level (or to a gravity vector, or other referenceother than the user's point of view).

Since the user is in the middle of a video chat, they may not wish tochange the settings of the device, which may require the user tonavigate a menu system and therefore leave the video chat, to preventany automatic rotation/re-orientation of the displayed content due tothe display changing orientation.

In this example, the user is able to provide a user input 612 bysqueezing the sides of the device, and in response to this user input612 the apparatus disassociates the linking of the orientation of thedisplayed video content 608 with respect to the orientation of thedisplay 602 of the portable electronic device 600, to retain theparticular orientation of the content 608 with respect to theorientation of the display 602 during the user input 612. Therefore theuser is able to move between sitting up and reclining/lying on theirside, and back again if they wish to, and by providing a suitable userinput 612, the orientation of the displayed content with respect to theangle of view of the user is retained. Thus the user 610 can view thedisplayed contact person in the expected orientation by providing a userinput during viewing of the video content.

The two angular positions shown in FIGS. 6a and 6b are very different,but the difference in orientation required to cause the apparatus todetect that the display has changed orientation from, for example,portrait to landscape need not be such a large difference.

The user input 612 for the portable electronic device 600 in thisembodiment is detected during use of the particular supplementaryapplication of the video chat application, but in other examples theviewed video content may be from the user watching a movie or otherimage-based broadcast, or the user may be playing a game. For example,if the user if playing a game on their portable electronic device andwish to move between sitting upright and a reclining position, they maynot wish the displayed content to be oriented to correspond to theorientation of the display if the user themselves is also changingorientation.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 6a and 6b , the detection of a squeezeinput from the user on the sides of the device provides the user input.Other exemplary user inputs include squeezing only one particular side(that is, a particular location designated to provide fordisassociation) of the device, pressing or touching at one or moreparticular locations on the back of the device (if the device isconfigured to receive inputs via the back of the device), or by the userbending part of the device (if the device is a flexible portableelectronic device and configured to receive user input via beingdeformed/bent).

FIG. 7 shows a flow diagram illustrating the step of, in response touser input, disassociating the linking of the orientation of contentwith respect to the orientation of a display of a portable electronicdevice to retain the particular orientation of the content with respectto the orientation of the display during the user input 702, and isself-explanatory.

FIG. 8 illustrates schematically a computer/processor readable medium800 providing a program according to an embodiment. In this example, thecomputer/processor readable medium is a disc such as a digital versatiledisc (DVD) or a compact disc (CD). In other embodiments, the computerreadable medium may be any medium that has been programmed in such a wayas to carry out an inventive function. The computer program code may bedistributed between the multiple memories of the same type, or multiplememories of a different type, such as ROM, RAM, flash, hard disk, solidstate, etc.

The apparatus may comprise a dis-associator. The dis-associator maycomprise hardware and/or software, and be configured to, in response touser input, disassociate the linking of the orientation of content withrespect to the orientation of a display of a portable electronic deviceto retain the particular orientation of the content with respect to theorientation of the display during the user input for the apparatus.

Any mentioned apparatus/device and/or other features of particularmentioned apparatus/device may be provided by apparatus arranged suchthat they become configured to carry out the desired operations onlywhen enabled, e.g., switched on, or the like. In such cases, they maynot necessarily have the appropriate software loaded into the activememory in the non-enabled (e.g., switched off state) and only load theappropriate software in the enabled (e.g., on state). The apparatus maycomprise hardware circuitry and/or firmware. The apparatus may comprisesoftware loaded onto memory. Such software/computer programs may berecorded on the same memory/processor/functional units and/or on one ormore memories/processors/functional units.

In some embodiments, a particular mentioned apparatus/device may bepre-programmed with the appropriate software to carry out desiredoperations, and wherein the appropriate software can be enabled for useby a user downloading a “key”, for example, to unlock/enable thesoftware and its associated functionality. Advantages associated withsuch embodiments can include a reduced requirement to download data whenfurther functionality is required for a device, and this can be usefulin examples where a device is perceived to have sufficient capacity tostore such pre-programmed software for functionality that may not beenabled by a user.

Any mentioned apparatus/circuitry/elements/processor may have otherfunctions in addition to the mentioned functions, and that thesefunctions may be performed by the sameapparatus/circuitry/elements/processor. One or more disclosed aspectsmay encompass the electronic distribution of associated computerprograms and computer programs (which may be source/transport encoded)recorded on an appropriate carrier (e.g., memory, signal).

Any “computer” described herein can comprise a collection of one or moreindividual processors/processing elements that may or may not be locatedon the same circuit board, or the same region/position of a circuitboard or even the same device. In some embodiments one or more of anymentioned processors may be distributed over a plurality of devices. Thesame or different processor/processing elements may perform one or morefunctions described herein.

The term “signaling” may refer to one or more signals transmitted as aseries of transmitted and/or received electrical/optical signals. Theseries of signals may comprise one or more individual signal componentsor distinct signals to make up said signaling. Some or all of theseindividual signals may be transmitted/received by wireless or wiredcommunication simultaneously, in sequence, and/or such that theytemporally overlap one another.

With reference to any discussion of any mentioned computer and/orprocessor and memory (e.g., including ROM, CD-ROM, etc.), these maycomprise a computer processor, application specific integrated circuit(ASIC), field-programmable gate array (FPGA), and/or other hardwarecomponents that have been programmed in such a way to carry out theinventive function.

The applicant hereby discloses in isolation each individual featuredescribed herein and any combination of two or more such features, tothe extent that such features or combinations are capable of beingcarried out based on the present specification as a whole, in the lightof the common general knowledge of a person skilled in the art,irrespective of whether such features or combinations of features solveany problems disclosed herein, and without limitation to the scope ofthe claims. The applicant indicates that the disclosedaspects/embodiments may consist of any such individual feature orcombination of features. In view of the foregoing description it will beevident to a person skilled in the art that various modifications may bemade within the scope of the disclosure.

While there have been shown and described and pointed out fundamentalnovel features as applied to preferred embodiments thereof, it will beunderstood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in theform and details of the devices and methods described may be made bythose skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of thedisclosure. For example, it is expressly intended that all combinationsof those elements and/or method steps which perform substantially thesame function in substantially the same way to achieve the same resultsare within the scope of the disclosure. Moreover, it should berecognized that structures and/or elements and/or method steps shownand/or described in connection with any disclosed form or embodimentsmay be incorporated in any other disclosed or described or suggestedform or embodiment as a general matter of design choice. Furthermore, inthe claims means-plus-function clauses are intended to cover thestructures described herein as performing the recited function and notonly structural equivalents, but also equivalent structures. Thusalthough a nail and a screw may not be structural equivalents in that anail employs a cylindrical surface to secure wooden parts together,whereas a screw employs a helical surface, in the environment offastening wooden parts, a nail and a screw may be equivalent structures.

That which is claimed:
 1. An apparatus comprising: at least oneprocessor; and at least one memory comprising computer program code, theat least one memory and the computer program code configured to, withthe at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform at least thefollowing: in response to detecting an object hovering over a touchdisplay of a portable electronic device, temporarily disassociate thelinking of orientation of content with respect to the orientation of thedisplay of the portable electronic device to retain the orientation ofthe content with respect to the orientation of the display during aduration that the object hovers over the touch display, and to preventrotation of the content during the duration of the object hovering overthe touch display; and in response to detecting removal of the objecthovering over the touch display of the portable electronic device,re-associate the linking of the orientation of content with respect tothe orientation of the display of the portable electronic device suchthat the rotation is performed in response to a change in theorientation of the display.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein theapparatus is configured to detect hovering objects during use of one ormore of a particular supplementary application of the portableelectronic device or a home screen of the portable electronic device. 3.The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the particular supplementaryapplication is one or more of a calling/telephone application, textmessage application, e-mail application, video application, audioapplication, word processing or other productivity application, game,social media application, internet browser, contact list application,calendar application, photo application or calculator application. 4.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is configured to detecthovering objects proximal to a proximity-sensitive display of theportable electronic device.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein theapparatus is configured to detect removal of the object hovering overthe touch display of the portable electronic device by detectingmovement of the object away from the touch display so as to no longer beproximal thereto.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus isconfigured to detect hovering objects only in regions at least partlyoverlying one or more user interface elements displayed on aproximity-sensitive display of the portable electronic device, and theapparatus is further configured to, in response to a touch input at thetouch display at least partly overlying the one or more user interfaceelements, identify a function associated with the touched region of thetouch display.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the touch inputcomprises one or more of a tap, a swipe, a slide, a press, a hold, arotate gesture, bending at least part of the portable electronic device,squeezing at least part of the portable electronic device or amulti-finger gesture.
 8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the one ormore user interface elements comprises one or more of a button, an icon,a form, a widget, a hyperlink, a slider, a scroll bar, or a virtualcontrol element.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus isconfigured to detect the object hovering over the touch display only inan instance the object hovering is proximal to a region not overlyingone or more user interface elements displayed on a proximity-sensitivedisplay of the portable electronic device.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the apparatus is configured to detect hovering objects at one ormore particular locations on the portable electronic device, the one ormore particular locations being designated to provide for disassociationof the linking of the orientation of content with respect to theorientation of the display.
 11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein theapparatus is configured to detect hovering objects at one or moreparticular locations on the display of the portable electronic device.12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the detection of the objecthovering over the touch display is characterized by one or more of astatic hover proximal to the portable electronic device, a moving hoverproximal to the portable electronic device, or a multi-finger gesture.13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus comprises one ormore of an accelerometer, a gyroscope, or a magnetometer to detect theorientation of the display.
 14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein theorientation of the display is defined with respect to a gravity vector.15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is a portableelectronic device, a laptop computer, a mobile phone, a Smartphone, atablet computer, a personal digital assistant, a digital camera, awatch, a server, a portable media player, a module, or circuitry.
 16. Amethod comprising: in response to detecting an object hovering over atouch display of a portable electronic device, temporarilydisassociating the linking of orientation of content with respect to theorientation of the display of the portable electronic device to retainthe orientation of the content with respect to the orientation of thedisplay during a duration that the object hovers over the touch display,and to prevent rotation of the content during the duration of the objecthovering over the touch display; and in response to detecting removal ofthe object hovering over the touch display of the portable electronicdevice, re-associating the linking of the orientation of content withrespect to the orientation of the display of the portable electronicdevice such that the rotation is performed in response to a change inthe orientation of the display
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein thedetection of the object hovering over the touch display occurs duringuse of one or more of a particular supplementary application of theportable electronic device or a home screen of the portable electronicdevice.
 18. The method of claim 16, further comprising detecting removalof the object hovering over the touch display of the portable electronicdevice by detecting movement of the object away from the touch displayso as to no longer be proximal thereto.
 19. The method of claim 16,further comprising: detecting hovering objects only in regions at leastpartly overlying one or more user interface elements displayed on aproximity-sensitive display of the portable electronic device; and inresponse to a touch input at the touch display at least partly overlyingthe one or more user interface elements, identify a function associatedwith the touched region of the touch display.
 20. The method of claim16, wherein the object hovering over the touch display is detected onlyin an instance the object hovering is proximal to a region not overlyingone or more user interface elements displayed on a proximity-sensitivedisplay of the portable electronic device.
 21. A non-transitory computerreadable medium comprising computer program code stored thereon, thecomputer readable medium and computer program code being configured to,when run on at least one processor, perform at least the following: inresponse to detecting an object hovering over a touch display of aportable electronic device, temporarily disassociate the linking oforientation of content with respect to the orientation of the display ofthe portable electronic device to retain the orientation of the contentwith respect to the orientation of the display during a duration thatthe object hovers over the touch display, and to prevent rotation of thecontent during the duration of the object hovering over the touchdisplay; and in response to detecting removal of the object hoveringover the touch display of the portable electronic device, re-associatethe linking of the orientation of content with respect to theorientation of the display of the portable electronic device such thatthe rotation is performed in response to a change in the orientation ofthe display.